A Word from Bro Steve

Message From Bro Steve

Wednesday, March 6, is Ash Wednesday. We will have an Ash Wednesday service here at St. Paul’s at 7:00 AM, and we will help in services @ 12:10 PM and 7:00 PM at First Methodist Church. Also, Pastor Laura Campbell and I will be imposing (put on your forehead) ashes in the FUMC parking lot across from the Middle School at around 3:00 PM until we are done.

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the season of Lent, which is 40 days of preparation before Easter. We hear a lot about Lent, it is usually associated with giving something up for the season. Actually, we probably hear more about Lent because of Mardi Gras, which is the time just before Lent when people go crazy.

Growing up in the United Methodist Church, I really didn’t have any clue what Ash Wednesday was or what Lent was. That was a Catholic thing. The Catholic children would come to school, (both of them) with the ash cross on their head and would have to explain to us heathen what it was. But, now the United Methodist Church is becoming more in tune with the Christian calendar, and we celebrate Lent a little more.

I kind of like it. I am methodical and can be quite liturgical (don’t let the long hair and bread fool you), and I get moved by the Holy Spirit during these times. I will use Lent to focus my spiritual walk, I will have a cross of ashes placed on my forehead, and I will use Lent to make the Easter experience meaningful. I invite you to do the same.

Join us Wednesday morning, and invite people to come with you. This is one thing that every church in town does not do. We are special (truer words were never said), and this is a great opportunity to share that special time and service with others outside the congregation. And really, that is what it is all about.